Berryman 36 Hour Adventure Race

Since our Cyclewerx team cannot do the Berryman Adventure due to several schedule conflicts, I have managed to team up with Mid-Rivers Adventures to compete in the 36 hour race on September 26-27. I really didn't want to miss it this year. While I don't know the people that I am racing with, it is sure to be an adventure on so many levels.
There are some great teams coming in for this race, including an awesome team, WEDALI, from Minnesota, Golite from Colorado, Alpine Shop, Bushwacker, and a team from Texas. There are 12 teams in the 4 person co-ed division and many more in other divisions competing in the 36 hour race.
My goal is to finish this race. Post race report to follow sometime next week!
Post by Bryan Greaser

Berryman Offroad 6 Hour Duathlon

The weather for this Bonk Hard race could not have been any nicer. Well, I can't lie, I was a little hot a few times. Maybe next year the highs can only be about 72 instead of 80. Ok, KIDDING. August in Missouri and the high was only around 82 with low humidity. It was great.
It was nice being casual about getting ready in the morning for the 9 am start. Marc and I agreed that it sure beats these 4:30 am wake ups, and 5:30 pre-race meetings that we always have in adventure races, not to mention the last minute scramble to make sure we have all of our mandatory gear, maps, cluesheets, passports, etc. We got up early, cooked some breakfast, tooled around, and got ready to line up for the race. You can choose which leg you do first, bike or run. Marc and I both chose to do the bike leg first. It seemed more people chose to do the running loop first.
We lined up, and I made sure to be out front and found the 'hole-shot' into the woods right off of the bat. I wanted to get up front on this bike leg and stay there. Immediately onto the trail I was reminded of the extreme technical nature of this trail. Roots and LOTS of rocks. Big ones, small ones, sharp ones, loose gravel, you name it. I was intending to set down a hard pace on this bike leg. It consisted of 8 miles of singletrack on the Berryman trail, then it hit a connecting fire road up to a gravel road which we rode back to the Start/Finish. All told the bike loops were about 12.2 miles or so. One screaming downhill on the gravel had me clocking myself on my cyclocomputer at 35 mph! Yikes.
I stayed out front for this bike leg and came into the transition area, my computer showing me having completed a 1:12 minute lap. I think official race time might have been 1:14 though. It was time to transition to the run.
I transitioned and took off onto the run, knowing it would not be my strength for the day. I just came off of a 50k trail run two weeks ago, and being undertrained already for the run, coupled with fatigue from the 50k still (yes, I know, sad isn't it?) I wasn't counting on setting any records for the run. I took it at a moderate pace. The run had alot of doubletrack climbing towards the end, like some seriously long hills.
There was a cut-off time where you had to come back in to Race HQ under the 5 hour mark or you would not be allowed to go back out for another lap. I came in under it and transitioned again to go out for the final lap. I was told by Jason and Laura that two of the guys ahead of me pretty much just went out for their final laps also, one on the bike and one on the run. I had some work to do if I wanted a top 5 finish. I didn't see Marc at that time but I later found out that he had come in after 2 laps just over the cut-off so he was held back from doing a 3rd lap. He completed 2 laps in 5 hrs 19 minutes. Nice job Marc!
I went back out for lap 3 knowing I had to catch one of the guys on the bike. I finally caught him about 5 minutes from the end, so I hit the transition area, laced up my shoes, and took off knowing I had a fight going on with me and this guy. I was concerned because earlier on one of the laps this same guy went blazing by me on the running loop, so I figured he was a stronger runner than I. I also had the motivation of knowing that the other guy ahead of me was out on the bike and only minutes ahead of me.
So here I go, leaving Race HQ knowing I was in no worse than 4th but needing to fight to stay there, and possibly shooting for 3rd place. When I did this final run I swear I looked over my shoulder 50 times, thinking he would be fast approaching. It got to be a bit dangerous as it isn't too wise to turn around and take your eyes off of a rocky trail, but I couldn't help it.
I came to the long doubletrack climbing section and slowed it down some, still looking back, still seeing nobody. I ate a final AccelGel packet for the final push, pulled my hydration hose up and sucked for some water but it was EMPTY! No big deal rally since I was close to the finish, but I had a mouth full of gel that was thick and no water to wash it back. Anyway,I wondered what had happened to the guy giving chase? I was only a few minutes ahead of him when we left Race HQ, and I really thought he would catch me early. Well I kept pushing along, finally hitting the gravel road which takes you back to Race HQ/Finish. This meant about .6 miles left. I knew when I looked back then that if I didn't see him coming, I could hold my lead over him for that short remaining distance. As I was running this final portion, a guy came by on the bike (the end of each loop shared some of the gravel road) and I didn't know for sure since many different divisions were racing, but I had a feeling that it was the other guy who was minutes ahead of me.
When I came into the finish, I was told I secured 4th place in the 6 hour solo division, with a race time of 7 hrs 5 minutes, and sure enough, the bike that had just gone by was 3rd place, beating me by about 2 minutes. It turned out that the guy who was running that final lap that I kept looking over my should for finished 15 minutes back.
It was a fun time, pushing your body hard always is, and with great company and great weather, what more could you ask for? I had a great time talking and camping with my ace Marc Fisher, Jeff and Carrie Sona, Jason and Laura Elsenraat, Todd Holtman, Dathan Atchison, Jim and Wendy Davis, etc etc. I love this sport and all of the people who go along with it. The course was super fun, although I have to admit that by the 3rd lap I was really beginning to hate the rocks and found myself longing for some hardpacked singletrack like my hometown Klaus Park trail, or the Canal Loop trail at Kentucky Lake. The Berryman has a way of beating you up on a hardtail, but that's what makes it soooo fun. Like I have said before, to do these types of races, you have to like to suffer..... 37 miles on the mountaibn bike, half marathon trail run, and like minded people=A good day to be alive.
Post by Bryan Greaser

The 'Stank' not so stanky....

Well the Stanky Creek 50k trail run is over, and as I write this my legs are back in normal shape again. For a couple of days there my legs were sore enough for someone to have mistaken me for Frankenstein as I walked, but I am feelin' oh sooo good once again.
It was a hot day but the trails that this course covered were almost completely shaded from the sun, so that helped. But countering that was that there is no breeze blowing through this wooded area on a trail run, and the humidity was pretty much typical Memphis humidity in August. There were about 75 runners for the race, some doing 50k, some doing 40 miles, and some doing 50 miles. One thing that I noticed was that everyone was fit, fit, fit. Aid stations were spaced out nicely. I was drinking and eating like a maniac despite my stomach not really wanting anything. My fingers were really swollen from retaining sodium and fluids, as well as my feet, so I got some weird blisters and hot spots on my feet from that. And the roots on the trail cause you to trip now and again, especially later in the race when you start to get the heavy feet and heavy legs.
I felt pretty strong on the first 17 miles, but after that my lack of any real serious training and preparation for this race began to sneak in a little. My mind kicked it into overdrive and took over for the weakening legs, and I ultimately finished at 6 hrs, 22 minutes. Not by any means a blazing fast trail run, but it was my first ultra, and I truly just set out to hopefully finish the race. It ended up being 14th out of 38 total racers in the 50k race.
Ultra running is a very different creature from mountain bike racing and adventure racing. There was something very simple and primal about just running out into the woods with some food and hydration. When doing an Adventure race, it is nerve wracking to make sure you have all of the necessary gear, maps, etc etc. And the navigation throughout the adventure race is stressful yet fun. Doing an ultra trail run, it was you and the trail, and that's about it. When the run started, in my mind I said, "Well, here's to 6 hrs of getting to know yourself even better." That pretty much sums it up. I
It was a great event, and I am really glad that I did it. I cannot wait to step it up a notch and take it to the next level, whatever that might be. But I do know that I loves trail running.... Always have, always will. And that's all I have to say about that.

by Bryan Greaser

Sunflower State Games

On Friday, June 25th I picked up Lullel Hickman in Bolivar, MO and we headed to Perry State Park in Lawrence, KS. Before that time I had never officially introduced myself to him but had seen him many times at other events. I was thrilled to finally meet him and even more thrilled to get to race with him.



We pitched a tent when we got there at around 10:30. We did not waste much time getting some rest. Overall we both agreed that we had gotten more and better rest than we thought we would.



Saturday morning we were up at 6:00 and we began to take care of prerace stuff. We knew that this was a sprint race but we both had taken enough stuff to race a normal 8 to 12 hour race. My philosophy is if I do not pack it I cannot use it.



At 7:30 the pre-race meeting got underway with Jason Elsenraat of Bonk Hard racing directing the rodeo. He was in a chipper mood once again and was having way too much fun throwing out Salomon water bottles.



We got our map and clue sheet and began to strategize. This race had a specific bike section, a specific run section, and a specific canoe section. Jason allowed the racers to choose the leg that they wanted to do in any order. Each time you finished a leg you came back to HQ to receive a punch on your passport. We chose to bike first.



Before we took off we looked at the bike section as it had three checkpoints(CP's). The first was at the entrance to the singletrack trails and the other two were in the midst of a complicated trail system. I was very concerned about finding them but I kept that to myself.



Lullel and I had about a mile to the entrance of the singletrack and we then began our quest to find the two CP's amongst the puzzle of trails. My concerns were greatly brought to life as we struggled a little to find CP #6. The concerns were full blown as we struggled greatly with #7. We were falling behind at a rapid pace. Our biking was very fast but our locating of the CP's was very slow. We found them both and finally escaped the maze.



We then chose to trek. Lullel's gift is running. He towed me with a bungee. It was awesome. We knocked out the trek pretty quickly. We were slowed a little as I fought off some cramps. This was the first time that I had ever been towed running and we would not have gone even close to as fast as we did if it weren't for Lullel towing me. It was a great experience.



We then bolted for the canoes. When we were done they had told us that we were the fastest canoe time recorded for the race. We bushwhacked a hundred yards to the finish and was through. We ended up 22 minutes behind first place and we are thoroughly convinced that we lost all of that on the bike section.



Results completely aside, I was thrilled to spend some awesome time with Lullel. I truly looked forward to spending the time with him way more than the racing. My expectations were fulfilled.


This post is from Marc(as if you could not tell by the above picture).

What's that Stank??? It's Stanky Creek!

www.swampstomper.com

Yep, you read it right,the Stank is a comin'. Marc, Ken and I are switching gears a bit and doing a trail run only instead of an adventure race. It's on August 8th in Memphis, TN so you can bet your can it's gonna be hot and humid. Those two crazies are doing the 50 mile trail run, which was what we had planned for all of us to do together, but my running has really been lacking in quantity so I decided to just register for the 50k instead. The cool thing is that this race allows you to switch during the race, so if somehow I am still feeling good at 50k I could continue onward, but I am not betting on that. Making things worse, I tried to break my collarbone last weekend in a bike crash.....50k will be a serious effort for me as it is.
Berryman duathlon is slated for August 22nd. I am planning on doing that also, just haven't decided what I am doing there yet. Then there's the Berryman Adventure of course in late September.... Hmmmmm, hoping we can somehow make that happen too.

Post by Bryan Greaser

New jerseys

Ozark Greenways Adventure Race

May 16, 2009. OGAR comes up again on the schedule. This was our first race together as a team in 2008 and we did well and had a great time, so we were very much looking forward to this one again. Marc, Ken, Jill and I were racing this year. We had all planned ahead on making a weekend out of it, camping at the Gasconade Hills campground/resort with our families along. That aspect of the whole weekend really made it a memorable weekend in and of itself and completely aside from the actual race.

Friday night: We checked-in and went back to camp to get things together and cook some food. We had heard that a fairly nasty storm was moving through, so we were all trying to put things away at camp and prepare for it. Right before dark, the sky became really black to the west and that is when the winds began to pick up and then the rain came. The rain began around 9:30 or so and we all took shelter and tried to go to sleep. I think it rained all night long, and probably didn't quit until maybe 3 am. We got up for the pre-race 5 am meeting where we were given our maps for the first time and cluesheets. We went back to the campsite and continued to get things together. Another mandatory team meeting was at 6 am where we were given a few more bits of information, one of the most important things being that the race format had changed due to weather conditions. The paddling leg, which would have been canoeing on the Gasconade River, was scrapped and taken out due to swift water from all of the recent rains. So this meant we were only running, trekking, biking and orienteering. It is nice in an adventure race to transition to a paddling leg to rest the legs and use the arms for a while, but we would not have that luxury this time. This was beyond everyone's control and they made the right decision.

The race started out from the campground on bikes. 55 teams lined up for the start. We were moving along nicely, probably sitting in the front 10 of the pack, and unfortunately we had a flat rear tire. We all stopped to change it and I used the opportunity to take off my lightweight rain jacket and stow it away. As always, a ton of teams began passing us by. It rips apart part of my soul when that happens. I cannot stand it when teams you were ahead of start passing you by when you have a flat or mechanical. But these things happen, plain and simple, through no fault of anyone's. So there is only one thing you can do. We knew we had to hammer again so when we got rollin' we took off hard and slowly began checking off alot of the teams that passed us. We eventually arrived at a transition area and bike drop. We transitioned pretty well and took off on trails for a run. Boy were they a mess from the rain. Literally there were spots on the trail where water was flowing like a creek. Not just standing pools and puddles of water, FLOWING water. We started passing more teams on this trail run. When we arrived back at a manned CP we were told we were sitting in about 10th place and we were heading our on a Rogaine style Orienteering course to find 9 CP's.

We took off and found the first 6 of them very well, but I had some difficulty finding 2 of the last 3. There were some parts of this trek that took us through some serious bushwacking, our lower legs being sliced and diced by briars, etc. Right now as I type my shins look as if I got into a fight with 100 cats. We also ran into some of the worst 'itch-weed,' probably Stinging Nettle, that I have ever encountered. Once you ran through it the sting and burn hit you immediately like a Mack truck. Mine went away after about 20 minutes though. Once we checked back in after the 3+ hr O course trek we had another run back to our bikes. When we arrived back at bikes we were still sitting in about 10th place so we were hoping to possibly catch a team or two who might be bonking on the final 7 mile bike leg back to the Finish.

On the final bike leg we were moving along nicely and wouldn't you know that with less than 3 miles to go to the Finish we suffered another flat tire. We changed it pretty quickly though, so it was not of any real consequence. We got passed by a couple of teams while changing it but I know at least one of them had dropped a teammate and were racing "unranked" so it didn't matter.

We pulled into the Finish at 7 hr 33 minutes, good for a 9th place finish out of 55 teams. We were happy with that. We all had a great time racing this race again. We all agreed that there is still room for improvement and places where we can shave more time, but most importantly, we had a very good race. Physically we were all feeling good at the finish and nobody bonked or cramped. Good signs indeed.

Here is a link to our results: http://www.greenwayrace.org/races/ogar-2009/teams/cyclewerx/

Race report by Bryan Greaser